Historic Bethel Othello African Methodist Episcopal Church

Bible Study: Wednesday 6:00PM-7:30 PM Sunday School: 10:00 AM Worship Service: 11:00 AM Pastor: Rev. Melvin L Johnson Church: Pastor’s Office: 856-451-2700 Mailing Address: Historic Bethel Othello AMEC PO Box 663 Bridgeton, NJ History Historic Bethel Othello African Methodist Episcopal Church has served its congregation faithfully since its organization in 1795. The first church building stood on Ambury Hill on the outskirts of Othello. This church was destroyed by fire in the late 1830’s. After the fire the congregation decided to move about one mile away from the original church site. The existing edifice was established in 1838 in Springtown, Cumberland County. Ambury Hill Cemetery is the graveyard for old Springtown families and the final resting place for Civil War Veterans from the United States Colored Troops of Cumberland County.Historic Bethel Othello is significant as the first African Methodist Episcopal Church in Cumberland County and its association with Richard Allen, founder and first bishop of African Methodism. It is one of the last churches standing where Bishop Allen preached. Historic Bethel Othello has the distinction of being the oldest African Methodist Episcopal Church in the State of New Jersey. The existing edifice is the place where parishioners have worshipped since 1838. The church was the center for spiritual nourishment, cultural, and social lives of blacks during the antebellum period. The church stood against enslavement and was a welcome center for those seeking spiritual asylum. Through the clandestine operation of the Underground Railroad, the church provided a temporary gateway to freedom. Those who knocked on the doors of this freedom church were hid and sent on to Swedesboro and Mt. Holly. They were sent on to Burlington and Jersey City.Today, Historic Bethel Othello is a member of the New Jersey Annual Conference, First Episcopal District of the African Methodist Church. The present congregation is families who walk by faith and not by sight and whose candlelight burns from the biblical principle of loving our neighbor. We walk this way because we are taught: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” 1 John 4:11 Vision Statement Our vision is to be a family of faith in Cumberland County, teaching the Good News of Jesus Christ while sharing the light of love and hope. We worship reverently and spiritually, honoring our heritage while celebrating our diversity, promoting economic and social justice, practicing good stewardship through tithing and sacrificial giving, and encouraging economic, spiritual and physical health. To be a Family that models the interdependence of the church and families as expressed in Luke 2. At the dedication of the infant Jesus, the congregation and the Lord’s family cooperated to invest in the baby’s future. They provided for him a name given by heaven, introduced him to a rich religious tradition of hospitality to the stranger, compassion for the poor, and care for the weakest and most vulnerable members of society. Mission Statement As Historic Bethel Othello AME Church, we are a part of the Family of God and a vital entity in the Bridgeton/Greenwich community. We are believers in Jesus Christ, spreading the Good News, worshiping, teaching, growing, caring, sharing, cultivating Christian lifestyles, promoting justice, ministering to the needy, the oppressed and physically challenged, and people of all ages and nationalities, locally, with a focus on expanded outreach. We do this because we are led by the Holy Spirit and taught by Scriptures to obey the Great Commission: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost:” Matthew 28:19

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